Bill O'Reilly Might Be Gone, But Fox News Still Has a Woman Problem

In an emergency meeting on Wednesday morning, Fox News executives reportedly gathered to discuss the fate of their flagship anchor: Bill O'Reilly. Though O'Reilly is the network's biggest star—and a huge revenue generator; his show alone brought in over $446 million between 2014 and 2016—the anchor has been dogged for years by numerous allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct toward women associated with the network.

The claims stem from a bombshell investigation published by The New York Times earlier this month that revealed five women—all of whom either worked for O'Reilly or appeared with him on The O'Reilly Factor—came forward with allegations of sexual harassment against the anchor. According to the Times, documents revealed reports of conduct including "verbal abuse, lewd comments, unwanted advances, and phone calls in which it sounded as if Mr. O’Reilly was masturbating." In an effort to keep the allegations from becoming public, the network and O'Reilly agreed to pay out a combined total of $13 million to the women.

Now, less than 20 days after the report was published (and several additional women have come forward with additional allegations), the 67-year-old is on his way out. In a succinct statement delivered Wednesday afternoon, the network made clear that O'Reilly would not be returning to the network after his conveniently timed vacation to Italy: “After a thorough and careful review of the allegations, the Company and Bill O’Reilly have agreed that Bill O’Reilly will not be returning to the FOX News Channel.”

While two and a half weeks may seem like a short amount of time to topple a cable news superstar, the allegations chronicled in the Times report have been more or less swept under the rug since 2004. O'Reilly's behavior is nothing new, and it's hard not to ask: What took Fox so long to get rid of him?

O'Reilly has repeatedly denied the allegations that have been brought forward against him ("Just like other prominent and controversial people, I’m vulnerable to lawsuits from individuals who want me to pay them to avoid negative publicity," he said in a statement earlier this month. "In my more than 20 years at Fox News Channel, no one has ever filed a complaint about me with the Human Resources Department, even on the anonymous hotline.").

There is, however, one notable thing about the Times investigation: It caught the ire of O'Reilly's advertisers, and more than 50 of them dropped the show. Though the host's viewership didn't suffer because of the reports, they did undermine his value for the network. And that's where you can argue the real trouble was: It didn't seem to be the increasing number of sexual harassment allegations; it was his sudden lack of profitability.

We’d like to address questions about Bill O’Reilly’s future at FoxNews. After a thorough and careful review of allegations against him,the Company and Bill O’Reilly have agreed that Mr. O’Reilly will notreturn to the Fox News Channel.

By ratings standards, Bill O’Reilly is one of the most accomplished TVpersonalities in the history of cable news. In fact, his success byany measure is indisputable. Fox News has demonstrated again and againthe strength of its talent bench. We have full confidence that thenetwork will continue to be a powerhouse in cable news.

Lastly, and most importantly, we want to underscore our consistentcommitment to fostering a work environment built on the values oftrust and respect.

Remember: Beyond the accusations leveraged against O'Reilly, just last summer former CEO Roger Ailes was hit by allegations of sexual harassment from over two dozen women. Yes, a work environment "built on the values of trust and respect" sounds good, but how can such a thing exist when two of the most prominent men associated with the network perpetuated a "culture of misogyny" (as New York's Gabriel Sherman, who's remained close at hand throughout the network's turmoil, reported last September).

For years the network has reportedly operated as a hostile work environment for women—one where, according to Sherman, sexual propositions were commonplace and rebuffing these advancements, or threatening to report them, could lead (male) leadership to try to undermine or completely sabotage female employees' careers. If the company was concerned about the trust and respect of the women who worked there, they would not have worked so diligently to protect O'Reilly and keep the allegations secret. Similarly, it would not have taken a lawsuit from Gretchen Carlson, one of the network's popular former anchors, or accusations by Megyn Kelly, arguably the most prominent woman to formerly work for Fox, for the cable news channel to offer a repudiation of Ailes' behavior.

If the network truly wants to foster a safe environment for its employees, it needs to operate in a manner that earns the trust and respect of the women who work there—and not just when the company is doing damage control.